Friday, March 2, 2012

Getting back to business

Every now and then a window of opportunity opens. For some of us we are genuinely lucky to have these windows open more frequently than others. Sometimes it is just a crack and you have to lever the window open enough to squeeze through. Well over the Australia Day long weekend in January I managed to squeeze through one of those window openings.

For many years I have wanted to run the Bogong Boomerang. For the uninitiated that is a beast comprising a continuous out-and-back on the notorious Bogong2Hotham race course. One way is 64km with over 3000 metres of elevation gain. Out and back is double the distance and the elevation gain becomes irrelevant as your legs turn to putty and any incline or decline becomes a test of mettle and a real test of the integrity of your knee joints. I completed it solo and self-supported, which means no crew and no food/gear drops. I carried everything I needed from the start and only collected water from sources along the course. It took me 34hrs and 34mins but was an amazing journey across the most spectacular country. It took me a lot longer than anticipated but I was very conservative and most importantly got through without any major hiccups with my heart.

Which meant I could look to my next big challenge. Before my heart went south last year I had been planning an attempt to run the Bibbulmun in WA. At nearly 1000km I would need at least 3-4 weeks to set-up and run it. I am still a long way away from that kind of fitness or overall health. But running parallel to the Bibb is the lesser known Munda Biddi trail. Primarily designed for mountain biking, it is not yet complete at around 580km. With huts further apart than on the Bibb it would require more careful planning but it was a much more realistic goal. So on Monday 5th March, I plan to start running south from Perth on the Munda Biddi. I will have little internet access but will try to relay progress via sms for Phil to post here occasionally. I will also be carrying the Spot tracker and you can access that via the link top of right hand column (once I start).

My heart condition has highlighted to me that when a window opens I need to jump through it before it closes again. The opportunity might not present itself again. And this run will allow me to test my health in a safer but still challenging environment before I start looking to the Alps yet again.

Injinji Socks

Undoubtedly the best running sock available, Injinji have supported our attempts at running the AAWT with gear and most importantly their magical toesocks.

Helping the animal shelter

As added incentive I have decided to raise money for the local animal shelter (Geelong Animal Welfare Society GAWS). There are many good causes but this is one close to my heart and one that often struggles to meet the demands especially over the coming holiday season. So if you are looking to support my efforts with a donation to GAWS please follow the link to Everyday Hero to contribute.

Link will be added here:

Athlete Profiles

The runners - Andy and Phil

Andy Hewat

Midpack, middle aged ultrarunner with a passion for mountain trails. The tougher and gnarlier the better. Strength: downhills. Weakness: uphills. Motto: have poles will travel. Have dreamt of running the AAWT since a Canadian friend told me about a continuous trail from Victoria to Canberra way back in 1988. Have finished 15 x 100 mile races including Hardrock, Western States, Great North Walk, Glasshouse and Coast to Kosciuszko. After two failed attempts at the track a lot more circumspect but no less keen to complete a full traverse. Moving a little slower these days after developing AF, now mostly under control after an ablation (see personal Blog for more detail).

Philip Murphy

42 year old design engineer who likes to run lots. Got in with the wrong crowd 11 years ago. Have since ran 9 marathons and 80 ultras including 14 trail 100 milers (Glasshouse, Great North Walk,Western States,Alpine, UTMB and Hardrock) and 4x150 milers (Coast to Kosciuszko) Despite a failed attempt last year am still dead keen to get back out there again. Looks like it might have to wait til Summer 2011-12 by which time hopefully Andy will have a much better knowledge of the trail.
The lure of this great trail is still very much alive...bring it!